For about the last year I've been buying basses and flipping them, usually for a higher price then what I paid for them. Don't worry I haven't sold any on TB. However, the last couple basses I've sold my conscience is starting to bother me as if what I'm doing is wrong. So I wanted to get your opinion. Is what I'm doing wrong.
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Right or wrong
- Thread starter pica
- Start date
Nothing wrong with that. It's called "business". The purpose of conducting business is to generate profit.
You're not holding a knife to someones throat and forcing them to buy it after all.
You're not holding a knife to someones throat and forcing them to buy it after all.
I try to keep that sort of stuff to Craigslist. When I sell on TB, I try to pass along some/most of any deal I got. Usually helps it sell faster too.
I don't see what's wrong with it. Anybody can look up what an instrument is going for on average and make an informed personal choice based on that information. And after all, selling it for a little more than what you paid for it is a what any business is supposed to be doing all day long.
As long as you're not gouging them or doing anything nefarious, I think you're in the moral clear. "Buy it for a steal and sell it for a deal," I say.
The current blue book guitar guide lists my Carvin LB75 as being worth 35x what I paid for it used, because it's been used by a rather uninteresting Talkbasser with Shonna Tucker as his avatar.
The current blue book guitar guide lists my Carvin LB75 as being worth 35x what I paid for it used, because it's been used by a rather uninteresting Talkbasser with Shonna Tucker as his avatar.
I buy and sell things all the time. If I think I can turn a decent profit on something, I am all over it. Like it has been said before: it is business.
I don't see what the big deal is. If you were defrauding the buyers, then, that might cause you to doubt the way you are doing business.
Really, it doesn't matter whether it is basses, clothes, toys, etc. You buy stuff, you can "try" to sell it at a profit. If you don't, you eat the loss if you can't unload it.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
I do it all the time. The only reason you should feel guilty is if you are scamming people, making them over-pay or misrepresenting something.
I don't scam people, overcharge them or misrepresent items I sell.
The only profit I aim to make is typically to cover the cost of shipping the bass. Otherwise, I usually aim to cut even. I can only think of one bass that I sold for the intent of getting a much profit as possible, and that was simply because the value of the bass went up several hundred since when I first took ownership of it. And the joke still ended up on me - had I held on to the bass even longer I could have maybe gotten close to $1,000 in profit from it. Oops lol.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
Then you are making three people happy with one transaction, nothing to be ashamed about.
You make the original seller happy when you take the bass off their hands, you make the new buyer happy with a solid bass, and you make yourself happy with the cash you made (and from tinkering on the bass.)
Bought my 2002 MIA P-Bass new back then. Gigged it for a decade, getting paid for those gigs. Sold it for just over a $100 more dollars than I paid for it new. No guilt at all.
I didn't play it. Hopefully someone is now.
I didn't play it. Hopefully someone is now.
Flipping equipment is how I have gotten most of my current collection.
A) looking for neglected / broken abused items at dirt cheap prices.
B) refurbishing refinishing upgrade setup meticulously disassemble and clean fretwork and refinish when called for.
...
C) price just below "going rate" take profit buy more.
It's a side business for me.
Buying from me, no hidden problems all professionally set up 100% gone through..
Nothing wrong with making profit for my efforts.
Noone has ever been shortchanged in a transaction with me.
Example: I got a Warwick Corvette 5 standard for 300.00 with case.
It was filthy, the strings rusty. Frets and hardware oxidized. Icky buildup all over the body and neck.
Broken nut.
Polished that turd and got 900 for it on ebay!
I started the bidding at 500.00 (below going rate)
The pics were great and the condition was evident that it was now flawless...
It's called business
A) looking for neglected / broken abused items at dirt cheap prices.
B) refurbishing refinishing upgrade setup meticulously disassemble and clean fretwork and refinish when called for.
...
C) price just below "going rate" take profit buy more.
It's a side business for me.
Buying from me, no hidden problems all professionally set up 100% gone through..
Nothing wrong with making profit for my efforts.
Noone has ever been shortchanged in a transaction with me.
Example: I got a Warwick Corvette 5 standard for 300.00 with case.
It was filthy, the strings rusty. Frets and hardware oxidized. Icky buildup all over the body and neck.
Broken nut.
Polished that turd and got 900 for it on ebay!
I started the bidding at 500.00 (below going rate)
The pics were great and the condition was evident that it was now flawless...
It's called business
If you were selling me a bass let's say you bought it for $150 at a yard sale, let's say this is a great bass too and you sell it to me for $250. Let's say I buy it and love it and somehow find out you made $100 off me. Now let's also say I am mad and you agree to refund my money and I tell you I will go find that bass for $150.
What are the chances of me going through CL and yard sales and pawn shops and finding that exact bass in that good of condition for that price? Pretty slim, now if I happen to eventually find that bass think about all the scouting on the internet and driving to places I had to do. I may find myself saying you know what I wish I payed that hundred extra dollars just to get that bass and avoid all these hassles and months of searching.
I have spent extra money knowing the seller will profit to get the product I wanted right then and there, fully aware the seller even told me he was trying to make a profit. Also of course I felt the price was fair
The seller wasn't selling me gear over priced in horrible condition he simply found a bargain and gave me a fair used price. I also knew I couldn't find it for even the price he wanted.
My point is flipping is sort of like a service. It's a hassle to hunt and find people with nice gear with "just wanting to get rid of it prices". The flipper puts in the foot work you spent time and gas money it's fair to make a profit just like any business.
What are the chances of me going through CL and yard sales and pawn shops and finding that exact bass in that good of condition for that price? Pretty slim, now if I happen to eventually find that bass think about all the scouting on the internet and driving to places I had to do. I may find myself saying you know what I wish I payed that hundred extra dollars just to get that bass and avoid all these hassles and months of searching.
I have spent extra money knowing the seller will profit to get the product I wanted right then and there, fully aware the seller even told me he was trying to make a profit. Also of course I felt the price was fair
The seller wasn't selling me gear over priced in horrible condition he simply found a bargain and gave me a fair used price. I also knew I couldn't find it for even the price he wanted.
My point is flipping is sort of like a service. It's a hassle to hunt and find people with nice gear with "just wanting to get rid of it prices". The flipper puts in the foot work you spent time and gas money it's fair to make a profit just like any business.
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You probably wouldn't get away with it here, but good deal that you can elsewhere.
About the only time I can think of where this would get dicey is you knowingly took advantage of someones lack of knowledge to buy low, then flipped the item for a profit.
If I came across a high end bass at a garage sale, say a Sadowky/Roscoe/Ritter/etc, and it was only a couple hundred bucks but in great shape, I'd let the person know what they had and the potential value. I'd hope to negotiate a reasonable deal for myself, but I sure wouldn't just buy it without telling them first.
-Mike
About the only time I can think of where this would get dicey is you knowingly took advantage of someones lack of knowledge to buy low, then flipped the item for a profit.
If I came across a high end bass at a garage sale, say a Sadowky/Roscoe/Ritter/etc, and it was only a couple hundred bucks but in great shape, I'd let the person know what they had and the potential value. I'd hope to negotiate a reasonable deal for myself, but I sure wouldn't just buy it without telling them first.
-Mike
It's a free market. If you're giving full and honest information about what it is you're selling, its condition and any changes/mods/repairs you've done to it, then the buyer can make up their own minds what it's worth to them to pay for it. Nothing wrong with that.
Some years ago, I bought a used P bass off a guy and he threw in his pedal with it (an MXR DI/EQ/distortion unit). He gave me a pretty good deal because he was moving and had to sell fast - I think it was $250 or so. I decided the P bass wasn't for me and put it up for sale, but kept the pedal. The P sold for the same price as I'd bought it for, so I basically had a free pedal. Four or five years went by, my pedalboard evolved, and I wasn't using the MXR any more. Put it up for sale at fair market price, it wound up with a guy from CL buying it for maybe $70 or so. So at the end of the day, I sold gear I'd spent $250 on for $320, pretty healthy profit margin. As far as I can see, everyone who bought from me got perfectly fair, even more than fair, prices on what they bought. So I'm quite happy with it all. Other times I lose a little money selling stuff - buy something for $180, sell a year later for $150. No biggie. To my mind, it's like I got to rent it for a year for $30. It all evens out.
Some years ago, I bought a used P bass off a guy and he threw in his pedal with it (an MXR DI/EQ/distortion unit). He gave me a pretty good deal because he was moving and had to sell fast - I think it was $250 or so. I decided the P bass wasn't for me and put it up for sale, but kept the pedal. The P sold for the same price as I'd bought it for, so I basically had a free pedal. Four or five years went by, my pedalboard evolved, and I wasn't using the MXR any more. Put it up for sale at fair market price, it wound up with a guy from CL buying it for maybe $70 or so. So at the end of the day, I sold gear I'd spent $250 on for $320, pretty healthy profit margin. As far as I can see, everyone who bought from me got perfectly fair, even more than fair, prices on what they bought. So I'm quite happy with it all. Other times I lose a little money selling stuff - buy something for $180, sell a year later for $150. No biggie. To my mind, it's like I got to rent it for a year for $30. It all evens out.
Wow ... why would anyone think this is wrong ... it's the law of commerce to buy low and sell high. Anyone with a beef is just exhibiting "sour grapes". Especially in the forums when someone hesitates on something they're looking for and misses a deal someone else took advantage of ... and then cries foul when the new owner puts it for sale at a higher price. Stupid.
I also do it all the time. I have met a lot of nice people and made a few friends. I'm not greedy and if I get a really good deal, I pass it on. I once did a series of 6 trades and 3 sales, and got a Goldtop Les Paul Traditional for 200$ initial investment. Its a lot of fun and I like meeting different people.
I have had hundreds of people come to my house, and only had one kind of weird/bad experience.
I have had hundreds of people come to my house, and only had one kind of weird/bad experience.
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